Month: November 2013

Well, for the first time in 104 days I completely skipped blogging two days in a row. Everytime I think I’m going to have some free time I decide to fill it with stuff something comes up.

Even with the homework, I really have no complaints. Except the homework…

Friday I spent most of the day working on homework, cleaning the house, and doing our laundry. I hit the hay pretty early Friday night because I had an early morning appointment at the salon and then a purse party at my friend Ashley’s house.

Saturday was fantastic! The first three hours of my day were spent at the salon getting a cut, color, and style. The transformation continues…I went red…really, really red. And I love it! My stylist says I was born to be a red head, and I must say that I agree with her. I got a ton of compliments at the party and later at our friend’s house. Of course, I’ll never be able to get it to look like it did yesterday, but I can live with that.

Ashley’s party was a lot of fun. I got to see some friends that I hadn’t seen in quite some time. I always love going to her house. There’s something about Bardstown that reminds me of my hometown. However, I still feel like it’s a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there (sorry Mom!) I did really well and stayed on budget. Before it’s over with, I’m going to have to have to room just for my bags…

My favorite purchase was a knapsack that I got for the gym. I had “Never Give Up” embroidered on it (I didn’t have enough letters to do my first choice – “Don’t Stop Believin'”). The bag that I’ve been carrying just isn’t deep enough to carry my clothes, wallet, and iPad.

The best part of the day (outside of getting to see my buddies) is that I was able to ignore the cake, chips, punch, and Halloween candy. Ashley has a six year old who got AN ENTIRE TOTE BAG FULL OF CANDY! I had one snack size bag of skittles, one helping of chips (11) and a 4″ Subway sandwich. After the party, we went to Cracker Barrell and I had my usual grilled chicken tenderloin meal with veggies. I couldn’t take it this morning and decided to weigh just to see if my willpower had paid off, and it had! I’m down almost 2 pounds so far and our weigh in isn’t until Tuesday. The loss motivated me to work out today and then I subsequently ate all of my exercise calories…

Back to the routine tomorrow and I’m looking forward to it (most of it anyway). I can’t say I’m looking forward to going back to work, but who does?

I’m planning on making veggie soup tomorrow night and I can’t wait! Low in calories – big on taste. (Yes, I’m fully aware that I sound like a marketing firm – but I really do feel that way).

“The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play.” ~Arnold Toynbee

Cliff and I stayed home from work today. I wasn’t feeling very well this morning and I have so many things to do over the next four weeks that I just needed a day to collect myself. Work is going full force, I’m still struggling in my Networking class (not to mention the homework load from User Support and Visual Programming), and I have two trips to prepare for…all while fitting in the regular, everyday activities of cleaning the house, doing laundry, grocery shopping, and trying to retain just the slightest hint of a social life.

First world problems, amirtight?

We were still pretty productive today. I started feeling more human late in the morning, so we headed to the gym. Yesterday I really pushed myself to see if I could to speed intervals of 5 minutes fast and 5 minutes slow. I made it through the entire 45 minutes alternating fast and slow. It was one of the most satisfying workouts I’ve ever had. However, I certainly wasn’t up to doing that again today. I was still feeling pretty blah, plus I was a little sore from yesterday so I just did an easy 45 minutes at a leisurely pace. Then we met my best friend, Ashley for lunch at McAlister’s. Where I consumed a 1500 calorie larger lunch than normal. For the first time since I started exercising, I ate all of my calories for the day…and that was with skipping dinner (unless you count the 90 calorie Rice Krispy treat as a dinner).

I wasn’t the only one that was a little indulgent to themselves today. We found these awesome little ice cream treats for dogs while we were at the grocery and, of course, we just had to get them for Lily.

She went nuts.

Absolutely bat shit crazy.

At one point she just say on her hind legs while Cliff held the container for her and just went to town on the little bowl.

I have no idea what I would do without that animal. She’s just awesome.

Wait, I do know what I would do without her. I actually have 1/2 of a king sized bed to sleep on, rather than 1/8…

I have kept up my blog for 100 days. This was my first (blog) goal and I’m super excited to have finally reached it.

For 100 days I have chronicled every step in our current weight loss journey.

And to top it all off, I even had a celebrity stop by and read a bit of my blog. I follow this woman, faithfully, each day on her blog Runs for Cookies. Katie has lost over 100 pounds and has kept it off for years. Her blog is very down to earth and incredibly inspiring. She gives us all a peek into her life and what it’s like to lose the weight and the challenges that she faces while keeping it off. I can only hope that, one day, my story will be as helpful to others as hers has been to me. (Oh and how could I forget her recipe blog?! Anyone reading this (especially you Tater!!!) would love this page.

My blog isn’t the only one that had a pretty exciting day. I recently received a promotion at my place of employment and this month was my first month on my own and I received the “Outstanding Collector” award for the month. I work for a healthcare audit firm collecting managed care claims (which is a fancy way of saying I call hospitals and tell them to give me money). Last month I was the first person to ever collect $1M in a month, so I got a little certificate. It was a really nice gesture and I like working for a place where I feel appreciated. A lot of employers these days forget to show their employees that their hard work does not go unnoticed.

This week has shaped up pretty nicely thus far. This weekend seems like it’s going to follow suit. I’m getting my hair did Saturday morning and then my best friend is having an Initials, Inc. party Saturday afternoon. I have a very, very bad weakness for bags of any kind…

Seriously…any. I have 50-75 tote bags from grocery stores all over the region.

Speaking of weaknesses, just three more weeks until our annual girl’s only shopping trip to Cincinnati!

**And yes, for those wondering, that is a pin with C3PO and R2D2 holding up my certificate. **

Today’s quote is perfect for the occasion:

“It is important that you recognize your progress and take pride in your accomplishments. Share your achievements with others. Brag a little. The recognition and support of those around you is nurturing.” ~ Rosemarie Rossetti